Jun 25th, 2008
Posted by Amanda Simon, ACLU at 5:52pm	National Security

FISA Debate III - Cloture's Coming...

Wyden's on the floor. God love ‘im. Says the president's wiretapping program was built on "legal quicksand." Coming from one of the very few people who have actually seen the Office of Legal Opinion memos, that's quite a statement. He also says the administration "overreached and had fallen short." Nice wordplay, sir!

Dodd is reminding everyone that this vote will go down in history. I'm not sure his colleagues can hear that enough. Now he's talking about the amendment Feingold and he will offer to strip immunity. That man's got immunity in his teeth and he's not letting go.

Rockefeller's accepting his Emmy - I mean talking about brokering the deal and thanking everyone involved. Says he's "aghast at what they could do." Yeah, Jay. Me, too. I wish the band would play him off.

Dodd's back. Mostly banking bill stuff. Not so much an ACLU issue but an important one.

Now they're waiting on a quorum call. Cloture should breeze by around 7pm.

Trivia: Today is George Orwell's birthday. Coincidence? (Hat-tip to Ms. Katy Nelson.)

Permalink |	National Security

1. Tyler Says:
   Jun 25th, 2008 at 6:00pm

   I'm so profoundly disappointed in Congress over this bill. The technical details aren't even discussed, and there's this gigantic gaping problem of the attorney general being given the ability to basically wave off any and all judicial review pertaining to this program. How can anyone be /for/ this bill?

2. JayinVA Says:
   Jun 26th, 2008 at 2:39am

   guys, please tell me you are organizing a DC protest this July 4th.

   let us at least pretend that democracy cares about laws and voters and such, at least for one day

3. What Will Be Remembered Says:
   Jun 26th, 2008 at 7:37am

   ...that the U.S. Congress either did or did not sign off on the President of the United States' claim that he is above the law.

4. Ronbo Says:
   Jun 26th, 2008 at 11:16am

   The question was asked by Tyler about anyone could be for this bill - Obama is for it, does anyone know how he explains that position?

5. Hawaiian style Says:
   Jul 2nd, 2008 at 3:07am

   RE: the alleged claim that the King is above the law.

   Someone once told me that, "your actions speak so loudly I can't hear your words."

   Do you really need to hear Bush say he is above the law? And do you want to hear him use the word law in the same sentence when referring to himself?

   Maybe he could say something like, "I want to tell you your President is not a crook." That would work.

   It would erase the imprisonment of Americans without habeas corpus not to mention hundreds of others, rendition, torture, lying us into war, spending us broke, killing 4190 American kids, and killing who knows how many other human beings.

   I wonder if he knows how to spell potato, (?) potatoe (?), oh well fool me once shame on you fool me twice and shame on uh uh us?

   But I digress. Obama flip flopped on FISA. He abandoned his agreement to support a filibuster if it happened for the political advantageous (?) move to the center.

   "Disappointment" over a bill that sacrifices the 4th Amendment for some ethereal means of security while giving (il)-legal immunity to the telecoms, what a minimalist statement. It reminds me of the scene in Cyrano when Montfleury insults Cyrano's nose. Whereupon Cyrano goes on to expound on how anyone with a little talent and wit could have said so many things such as "my nose sir, a crag.... Oh well

   The more things change, the more they stay the same.